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Zero Waste and Economic Recovery the Job Creation Potential

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Zero Waste and Economic Recovery the Job Creation Potential ZERO WASTE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY THE JOB CREATION POTENTIAL OF ZERO WASTE SOLUTIONSThe Job Creation Potential of Zero Waste Solutions | 1 Figure 1: Waste Hierarchy with mean job generation figures per ten thousand tonnes of waste processed per year. The data show that waste management approaches that have the best environmental outcomes also generate the most jobs. RSIN, RC, RS* *The limited data available on the job creation potential of the strategies in the top tier of the hierarchy suggest that the magnitude of job growth potential Executive from this sector could be significant. Summary RPAIR 404 jobs Employment opportunities are important in any economy, and especially in times of economic downturn. As governments and the private sector invest in economic recovery strategies, particularly “green” or climate- neutral approaches, it is important to evaluate their employment potential. C40 estimates that the waste management sector has the potential to create 2.9 million jobs in its 97 member cities alone. RCYCL Zero waste—a comprehensive approach to waste management that RMANFACTR prioritizes waste prevention, re-use, composting, and recycling—is a widely-adopted strategy proven to minimize environmental impacts and 115 jobs 55 jobs contribute to a just society. In this study, we evaluate its job generation potential. The data for this study came from a wide range of sources spanning 16 countries. Despite the diversity in geographic and economic conditions, the results are clear: zero waste approaches create orders of magnitude more jobs than disposal-based systems that primarily burn or bury waste. Indeed, waste interventions can be ranked according to their job COMPOST generation potential, and this ranking exactly matches the traditional waste hierarchy based on environmental impacts (Figure 1). These 7 jobs results demonstrate the compatibility of environmental and economic goals and position zero waste as an opportune social infrastructure in which investments can strengthen local and global economic resilience. LANFILL OR INCINRAT This study also finds evidence for good job quality in zero waste systems. 2 Multiple studies of zero waste systems cite higher wages and better jobs working conditions than in comparable fields, and opportunities to develop and use varied skills, from equipment repair to public outreach. 2 | Zero Waste and Economic Recovery The Job Creation Potential of Zero Waste Solutions | 3 We used our generated global average job creation waste systems that integrate repair, reuse, and waste factors to estimate the number of jobs that could be reduction is even greater. Introduction created in a handful of major cities around the world We conclude that implementing zero waste strategies by simply achieving higher recycling and composting The economic crisis ushered by the COVID-19 to meet current and future waste management needs rates—two zero waste processes with the most widely pandemic caused millions of people around the not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air available data. The results are listed in Figure 2 (see world to lose their jobs. In an effort to bolster pollution1,2 but also provide significantly more jobs page 7) and show that recycling, remanufacturing, their economies, local, provincial, and national than disposal-based systems. and composting alone could create thousands of new governments are deploying considerable recovery jobs across the model cities; the potential of full zero funds. The initiatives that will benefit from recovery funds will not only play a critical role in economic resilience, but also in the development of more just Materials Recovery Facility in Buenos Aires (Argentina) operated by the worker cooperative El Amanecer de los societies. Cartoneros with assistance from the government and equipment company. 260 people work in the facility, processing Green City Growers is a landscaping company that turns materials collected by 1,800 recyclers. ©Santiago Vivacqua/GAIA unused urban spaces in Boston (USA) into edible gardens using The waste management sector is of particular compost sourced from local restaurants. ©Anto Astudillo/GAIA interest due to its large pollution impacts and the projected substantial increase in waste generation.3 C40 estimates that the waste management industry Zero waste vs. disposal has the potential to create 2.9 million jobs across the Zero waste is a comprehensive waste 97 cities in the C40 network.4 However, conventional management approach that prioritizes waste management approaches are often expensive waste reduction and material recovery. propositions, which are generally directly or Strategies include policy interventions to indirectly funded by the public. The result is that drive the redesign of products and delivery waste management is the single greatest line item Key takeaways systems; and increasing access to reuse, in many municipal budgets,5 despite much of the repair, recycling, and composting. The world’s municipal waste remaining uncollected. from the study: ultimate aim is to create a circular economy, Zero waste provides a proven solution to these shrinking waste disposal to zero. Disposal- environmental and economic challenges. Following based systems rely on incineration (“waste The Numbers The Insights the waste hierarchy —a long-established ranking to energy”) and landfills to handle the of waste management methods according to majority of the waste stream, resulting in Repair creates over 200 times Economic goals align with environmental goals; environmental impact—zero waste practices higher economic costs and environmental as many jobs as landfills and the waste management strategies that create prioritize waste reduction, reuse, repair, recycling, consequences. incinerators. the most jobs also deliver the best environmental and composting, in that order; and minimize outcomes. disposal (incineration and landfilling). This approach not only minimizes environmental harms, but it is Here we offer an analysis of the employment benefits also significantly less expensive than systems that Recycling creates over 50 times Zero waste systems offer more desirable of zero waste, drawing upon a wide range of existing primarily burn or bury waste. Unlike incinerators and as many jobs as landfills and employment opportunities as they can utilize skills studies. No published work has examined the incinerators. beyond basic manual labor, provide higher wages, engineered landfills that require large investments employment impact of a complete zero waste system, offer more permanent positions, and improve for the build and upkeep of a centralized facility, zero but many have analyzed the employment impacts of quality of life. waste systems, particularly in the Global South, tend the various components of zero waste, recycling in to be decentralized and rely on local community- particular. We compared these findings with data led collection, sorting, recycling, and composting on the employment impacts of disposal at landfills Remanufacturing creates almost 30 As the job creation potential of zero waste infrastructure, coupled with strong waste reduction and incinerators. We then used these findings and times as many jobs as landfills and processes is comparable across geographies, policies. These zero waste systems result in waste composition data from a number of major incinerators. governments across the globe have an opportunity both the creation of local jobs and a decrease in cities around the world to estimate the job creation to benefit from the implementation of zero waste environmental pollution. potential of zero waste in each city. solutions as part of their COVID-19 economic recovery strategy. 4 | Zero Waste and Economic Recovery The Job Creation Potential of Zero Waste Solutions | 5 Figure 2: An idealized waste flow diagram. Jobs in recycling generally include secondary sorting and processing. Data collection and definitions See Figure 1 for more comprehensive waste hierarchy. of waste management processes We collected job production data from 36 method described in each publication: repair, Source peer-reviewed academic papers, news articles, recycling, remanufacturing, composting, landfill, and Separation government reports, company websites, and incineration. Reduction and reuse are not included publications from non-governmental organizations due to a lack of data. Sources vary greatly in their including GAIA representing 16 countries.6 In some use of terms, and in which activities contribute to RAL cases, tonnage and job figures for the same location their employment statistics. In particular, there are ORANICS RCYCLALS TRAS OOS and year from separate publications are combined inconsistencies regarding the inclusion of waste to calculate job estimates. We categorized the data collection activities in the job estimates. based on the waste management or processing ISCARS Secondary Compost Repair Overview of activities generally included in each category Sort Repair: Activities that fall under Composting: Job figures for this category typically consist of composting generally include only collection, refurbishment, and direct work in producing compost Processing resale of durable goods like at a facility. In three cases, organic furniture or electronics. waste collection is included, in another three the authors do not specify, and in one case, indirect education and Remanufacturing Recycling: Employment activities outreach jobs are included as well. One study includes that fall under recycling generally
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